The Half-Blood Home
by The88Constellations
Summary: "Welcome to the Half-Blood Home. You can meet anyone here, from Grover, the nature-obsessed secretary, to Annabeth, the nerd who will beat you up if you say that to her face. The one thing we all have in common? Our pasts really, really sucked. I'm guessing, Percy, that you'll fit right in." Prompt from DDaughterofAthena. T for abuse flashbacks. Not my cover art. *DISCONTINUED*
1. No Magic Cure

Percy POV

Crap.

Yup, basically my life in a word. But _especially_ right now.

My entire world has fallen apart. And apparently some guy in a wheelchair named Chiron Ambrose thinks he can fix it.

He thinks he can fix the years of abuse I suffered at the hands of my stepfather, Gabe Ugliano. He thinks he can fix my mom lying in a coma because Gabe hit her. He thinks that because he knew my dad, Poseidon Jackson, who died in a school shooting working as a security guard before I was born, he can fix all my problems.

Well, he can't. There's no magic cure for my messed-up life.

I get out of Chiron's beat-up black car and find myself staring at a four-story building. Its baby-blue paint is chipping, and it has white trim. All in all, it seems like it's trying too hard to look cleaned-up when it really isn't.

"Well, Percy," Chiron says. "Come inside. I'll introduce you to the other residents."

Inside, there is a lounge area. A gangly man stands hunched in a corner with a flowerpot, probably trying not to be noticed.

I hear a voice from another room yell, "GROVER!"

He flinches, drops the flowerpot, and runs off.

A sandy-haired boy who looks to be in his late teens walks in. He nods at Chiron.

"Hey Chiron. New resident?" he asks.

Chiron nods. The boy looks at me.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Percy," I reply.

"Cool. I'm Luke." He extends his hand, and I take it.

"So… what exactly is this place?" I ask.

"It's-" Chiron starts, but Luke interrupts him.

"Welcome to the Half-Blood Home. You can meet anyone here, from Grover, the nature-obsessed secretary, to Annabeth, the nerd who will beat you up if you say that to her face. The one thing we all have in common? Our pasts really, really sucked. I'm guessing, Percy, that you'll fit right in," Luke says.

I nod. I'm not really sure what to think of anyone here. Chiron seems well-intentioned, but he seems to think he has the answer to all my problems when he doesn't. Luke seems friendly enough, but if the people here had upbringings as bad as mine, all of them are more than meets the eye.

Chiron clears his throat. "Well, I'll leave you two to take the tour."

Luke doesn't just show me around the place. He fills me in on gossip.

Grover, the man I saw when I walked in, is the secretary of Mr. D, the director of the Half-Blood Home. Chiron, he says, is the "activities director."

"But we all know what that means," Luke elaborates. "It means that Chiron does all the important work and Grover does all the less important work. Mr. D. just sits around with his Diet Coke can all day."

When I ask about the other residents, Luke says, "You'll meet them soon enough. Not my business to tell you about their personal pasts, because they might not want you to know. At least, not yet. But I'll give you some advice about handling them."

The gist of Luke's advice was this:

Don't mess with Clarisse, Annabeth, Thalia, or Ethan.

Silena will try to pair you with another resident. Don't give in.

Despite his huge appearance, Beckendorf is a super nice guy.

Whatever you do, DON'T play Mythomagic with Nico.

Don't ask anyone about their pasts. If they want, they will open up to you. Don't press them. Likewise, they won't ask about your past, but feel free to talk to any of us.

I have no idea who Clarisse, Thalia, Ethan, Silena, Beckendorf, or Nico are. The only thing I know about Annabeth is that according to Luke, she's a nerd but will beat you up if you say that to her face. Nevertheless, I nod like I get it. At least I understand the last part, though it isn't as if I'm going to open up any time soon.

Any time _ever._

 **A/N: Hi guys! So this is an adopted fic from "Story Ideas" by DDaughter of Athena. You'll see more PJO characters in later chapters, but no HOO.**

 **What did you think of the chapter? Constructive criticism is always welcome, and please review!**

 **~The88Constellations**


	2. Nothing Special

Annabeth POV

Percy Jackson is nothing special.

I mean, he's a new kid, so he gets some attention, but he doesn't seem any different from the rest of us. The pasts of the residents of the Half-Blood Home all sucked, all in different ways, but we ourselves all come out the same. Damaged. Broken, even. I've seen five ways of handling it.

Some of us, like Luke, Beckendorf, and Will, are better at hiding it. Smoothing themselves out at the edges.

Others, like Clarisse, Ethan, and Thalia, don't bother.

Still others, like Harley and Nico, don't fully understand their situation.

There are a few cliques, who keep to themselves and mostly don't talk to people outside of their friend group. One example is Phoebe, Bianca, and Zoë, though Bianca sometimes talks to Nico, who is her little brother.

The last group is the loners. I'm sort of a part of this group. Well, I'm somewhere between a loner and a clique member. Although I only talk to a select group of people (Thalia, Luke, and Grover), the four of us aren't inseparable like a clique. I, in particular, can do quite well on my own.

Almost all new kids behave like loners for a while. Eventually, they either decide to socialize a bit or stay a loner. Percy is no exception. Though he's sitting with Will and Nico, at a table to the left of Luke, Thalia, and I, it's probably only because they waved him over.

"So," I start. "What do you think of the new kid?" I nod in Percy's direction.

Thalia shrugs. "Don't know yet. You can never really tell until the first couple of weeks are over."

Luke says, "I gave him the tour."

"And?"

"Pretty typical new kid. He'll probably adjust soon enough. I gave him some pointers, one of which was not to mess with you guys."

Part of me is smiling inside. I'm glad that that's my reputation here. Reps are hard to build, and they don't go away. You have a reputation of being tough and smart, like I do, and no one will go near you unless they can see past it (which, in my eyes, is a good thing). You have a reputation of being friendly, and you'll probably have at least a few companions, which, depending on the person, can be a good thing. But if you have a reputation of being annoying, people will avoid you like the plague. Not in a good way, like they do if you're tough.

Another part of me is annoyed. I can send that message without Luke doing it for me.

Whatever. Honestly, I'm not sure why I even care about Percy Jackson. Like I said, he is typical. I care about Luke and Thalia because they cared for me when I was on the streets at seven. I care about Grover because he brought the three of us here, a place where we don't have to run from anything anymore. Those are the only three people I always care about in a positive way. Oh, and also my half-brother, Malcolm, because family is family. He's from my mom's second marriage. She left my dad when I was four. Apparently, she remarried, and had Malcolm with her second husband. Then, according to him, they both died in a car accident a few years ago, so he came here.

Of course, if someone is kind to me, I remember it. Maybe I'll help them the next time they're in a tight spot. But one thing I've learned is that at the Half-Blood Home, it's survival of the fittest. People don't really look out for each other unless they have a specific reason to, like Luke, Thalia, Grover, and I do.

On the other side of things, I always watch out for Clarisse and Ethan. I don't know what their pasts were like, but whatever they went through has made them angry and bitter, respectively. And they project it outwards. Clarisse is a bully. She'll beat anyone up, even a little kid like Harley, just because she's had a bad day. Ethan isn't too bad, if you avoid him. But if you even look at him, he'll act snarky and hostile. So I care about them, too, just in a negative way.

Ugh. Why does every new arrival make me think about this stuff? It happened with Harley. With Connor and Travis Stoll. With Nico and Bianca di Angelo. Whenever someone new shows up, even if they aren't any different than any of the rest of us here, I always end up analyzing how I think about other people.

Annoyed at myself for overthinking, I go back to my breakfast.

 **A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter. Please review and tell me what you think!**

 **On the subject of reviews:**

 **DDaughterofAthena: Thank you so much! it means a lot coming from the person who wrote the prompt.**

 **Hannah forever: While I appreciate your eagerness, please slow down a bit! FF writers are busy people, and it was less than 24 hours after publication that you wrote that review.**

 **Just realized I forgot to do the disclaimer last chapter. Well, here it is. I'm not doing it again. I don't own Percy Jackson.**

 **See you with the next chapter! Unfortunately, it might be a week or two before I can update again.**

 **~The88Constellations**


	3. Toilet Water

Percy POV

A week after my arrival at the Half-Blood Home, I'm sullenly eating breakfast squeezed between the over-eager Nico di Angelo and his friend/father figure (and I don't mean he's like my beyond crappy excuse for a stepfather) Will Solace (they invite me to sit with them at every meal for some reason). When I go up to ask for seconds (which I do every day, and always get the same response from Mr. D: "You give it to one person, you have to give it to everyone, and we don't have enough food to spare for that, you spoiled brat!"), a menacing girl who I've only seen a few times glares at me.

"Percy, what did you do?" Will whispers.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"That's Clarisse. She only gives someone that death glare if they mess with her, challenge her, or compete against her. As far as I know, you've never openly challenged her, and you've never competed against her. So what did you do to get on her bad side?"

"I don't know," I whisper back.

Will's eyes suddenly widen. "Crap! Percy, as soon as breakfast is over, bolt for the boys' dorm."

"Why?" I ask suspiciously.

"You're a newbie. Clarisse always goes after newbies. Usually she stuffs the poor kid's head in a toilet, unless they've pissed her off. Then it's worse."

I nod. I've endured all kinds of things like that. From fourth grade on, every time I changed schools after getting kicked out, there was at least one bully out for my new kid blood. I've been stuffed in lockers and toilets, and gotten at least six different kinds of wedgies.

The bell that signals the end of breakfast rings, and I start to run for the boys' dorm, where Clarisse can't follow me.

I take a few hurried steps down the hallway before she finds me. She grabs me by my shirt collar and drags me to a bathroom.

I'm thinking _crap crap crap I'm gonna get a swirly_ and _I can do this, it's just like every other swirly_ simultaneously.

"What's your name, punk?" Clarisse asks menacingly.

"Percy," I reply through gritted teeth.

"Well, Prissy-"

"It's Per-" I start to correct.

She tries to dunk my head in the toilet before I can finish.

I hold my breath, but on a whim, I decide I've had enough of bullies. Before my head makes impact with the water, I swing my fist, not at Clarisse, but into the toilet.

My hand practically cries out in protest, but I grab a fistful of grimy toilet water and shove it in her face.

Clarisse tries to threaten me, but it's pretty damn hard to sound threatening when toilet water is dripping into your mouth. Then she tries to spit it out, so she can _really_ threaten me, but it keeps dripping.

She grabs a paper towel, wipes all the toilet water off of her face, spits out the water in her mouth, and then yells, "You're gonna pay for that, Prissy!"

Oh crap.

What did I just _do_?

 **A/N: I am SO sorry for the late update. I was inactive for 2 weeks and didn't have much time to write. Still, I should have warned you, and again, I apologize. I hope that won't happen again.**

 **Now, I will answer the reviews I got!**

 **Guest(s?), Queen of Poptarts, and Bunearybunny** : **Thanks so much!**

 **Also, shoutout to anyone who followed/favorited this story. You guys and my reviewers make me so happy!**

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**

 **~The88Constellations**


	4. Looking for Trouble

Annabeth POV

A few days ago, Percy Jackson was normal. Well, normal by Half-Blood Home standards. Now he's all anyone can talk about.

No one knows exactly what happened on Friday in the boys' bathroom, not even the most gossipy of gossips, like Silena. Most of the gossips are girls, and the boys here don't even go in their _own_ bathroom unless they _really_ have to go. Hell will freeze over before a girl goes in the boys' bathroom at the Half-Blood Home.

But we know enough. We know that Percy did _something_ to get Clarisse beyond pissed. Some people think that he _literally_ got her pissed. I'm not sure about that, but Clarisse and Percy can't be in the same room together without her giving him her deluxe death stare.

Percy Jackson has become a bit of a celebrity. Harley won't stop following him around, asking for details. Silena flirts with him. And even people who don't want to appear interested, like Luke, Thalia, and I, quietly speculate about the incident when no one's listening.

He seems uncomfortable with it, though. He still only talks to Will, and I think that's only because Will talks to him first. Sometimes he asks Luke for advice, but that's pretty rare.

Sooner or later, I know, Clarisse is going to come after him. No one disses her (or… does whatever Percy did) without paying the price.

So I decide to help him. I don't care that much about Percy individually, but I also don't like watching people getting beat up by Clarisse. We were all once that kid.

Empathy isn't the only reason I decide to help Percy. Clarisse and I are rivals. We've both got reputations of being tough, but we're on opposite sides of that. Fire and ice. Blue and red. She's the bully, and I'm the loner who the bully tries (and fails) to pick on.

Well, she tried once. I don't talk about it, not because I got beaten up, but because being the bully's target is a sign of weakness.

And I do _not_ show weakness. Ever.

After breakfast, I approach him.

"If you're going to ask about Friday-" he starts, but I cut him off.

"Listen, Jackson. I don't know what happened, and I'm not going to ask. I'm just here to give you some advice."

He stares at me blankly.

"Clarisse won't let this slide. If she gets the chance, she will strike and she will strike hard. So here's my advice: Don't do anything stupid, Jackson. Keep your head down. Don't go looking for trouble."

"Never been very good at that." His tone has a kind of dark, self-deprecating humor that matches his expression. "Besides, I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me."

I laugh quietly. "Most of us at the Half-Blood Home have had that experience. You're not alone. But you know what else the majority of us are good at? Hiding. So, Jackson, try to hide from trouble just this once."

He nods.

Mr. D yells, "All right, brats, it's time for morning chores! Except for Peter Johnson! He needs to see me in my office immediately!"

Percy and I laugh. "'Peter Johnson'?" he asks.

"Mr. D gets everyone's name wrong, haven't you noticed? I can't even count the number of times he's called me 'Annabelle Place'."

"Crap. I was hoping there might be someone here actually named Peter Johnson."

"Nope. You'd better go see what he wants."

 **A/N: Here's another chapter! I wanted to try to get it out for Annabeth's birthday on 7/12, but unfortunately, it didn't end up happening.**

 **Shoutout to anyone who gets the reference.**

 **What do you think Mr. D wants?**

 **Time to respond to my reviews!**

 **DDaughterofAthena and ExistentialPanoramicView: Thanks :)**

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**

 **~The88Constellations**

 **EDIT (7/17/18): I realized Mr. D should have gotten Percy's name wrong, so I added that in.**


	5. My Name is Percy Jackson

Percy POV

All right, what did I do this time?

I told Annabeth that I should see what Mr. D wants like I don't know. Well, I do know. He's going to kick me out.

I've seen it a million times before. Well, more accurately, six. Six schools in six years. I get kicked out of every school I set foot on. It's always the same. They say "Be strong" like they really mean it. But as soon as I put one toe out of line, it's "Pack your bags, Percy".

Am I really supposed to believe I've found a "haven"? A "safe place" where I can stay? Yeah right. It'll be a haven right up until it isn't.

I'm not sure what pushed Mr. D over the edge, though. Maybe someone (looking at you, Clarisse) complained to him about the boys' bathroom incident, telling it like it was all my fault. But considering how little he cares about any of us, it's just as likely that I asked for seconds one too many times.

I reluctantly push open the door to Mr. D's office. Of course, I get kicked out as soon as I start to think I might like it here…

"Perry Johansson-"

"My name is Percy Jackson."

"I don't give a damn, _Perry Johansson._ Anyways, I've received a complaint about you."

Crap. So it _is_ about that.

"Mr. D, whoever told you has it all wrong! Clarisse was going to flush my head down the toilet! I did what I had to in order to defend myself!"

"Regardless of who started it, you were fighting. The rules of the Home state that physical fights result in loss of dessert privileges for a week. As _both_ you and Camille were fighting, _both_ you and Camille will lose dessert privileges. I informed her of this when she complained."

Every now and then, I wonder how messed up this place really is. Now is one of those times. So, if someone like Clarisse was beating up someone like Nico di Angelo, they'd lose _dessert_ , but nothing else would happen? Yeah, that system _clearly_ isn't dysfunctional. Not at _all_.

"What are you still doing here, Pierre Jenkins? Get out of my office!"

I leave, muttering, "My name is _Percy Jackson_."

Now I have to do morning chores. The list of assigned jobs is posted outside Mr. D's office.

Let's see. Chris Rodriguez and Annabeth Chase are assigned to bed-making. Nico di Angelo and Silena Beauregard are assigned to washing dishes. Ethan Nakamura and Thalia Grace are assigned to doing the laundry. And…

Crap, crap, crap! A thousand times crap!

I'm assigned to emptying out the trash cans into the big dumpster behind the Home. That would be bad enough, but of course, it gets worse.

I could've gotten Thalia or Katie as a partner, but noooo. Of course, I got assigned to work with the one person who hates my guts.

I have to take out the trash with Clarisse La Rue.

 **A/N: Hey guys! No said anything about the reference last chapter, so I'll just tell you what it is. "I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me" is a quote from Harry Potter.**

 **Shoutout to anyone who gets the reference in** ** _this_** **chapter!**

 **To my reviewers:**

 **ExistentialPanoramicView: I answered a few of those questions this chapter, but you'll have to wait for other ones ;)**

 **Queen of Poptarts and Hannah forever: Thanks**

 **What did you think of this chapter? Please review!**

 **~The88Constellations**


	6. Throw Him a Curveball

Percy POV

It's like I told Annabeth before. Whenever I need a break, some force of nature says, "Percy Jackson has it too easy right now. Let's throw him a curveball!"

Then, consequently, I get thrown a curveball. Like right now, for instance. Just when I thought I was safe from Clarisse for another few days, I get assigned to do chores with her. And not just any chore, the worst one on the list.

Wanting to enjoy my last few minutes of not being a punching bag, I collect trash as slowly as I can without being suspicious. First I go to the boys' dorm, trudge to the corner of the room where the trash can resides, and dump the contents into the large black trash bag I was given for the job. Then I do the same with the dining hall. Then the kitchen. Then the boys' bathroom.

Finally, when I can't get away with stalling any longer, I haul myself to the infamous "Big Bertha", also known as the huge Dumpster behind the Half-Blood Home. Of course, Clarisse is waiting for me.

"All right punk, payback time!" she says gleefully. Then she throws me inside the Dumpster and closes the lid, obviously relishing every moment of her revenge.

Crap. Crap crap crap. Not only am I stuck in here with no help available, but I'm stuck in here with dirty, smelly _trash_ and no help available.

I find my mind wandering back to a place where I've refused to let it thus far. My past.

Actually, that isn't quite right. It was so recent that I can't yet call it my past. But it isn't my present, thank goodness, so I don't know what else to call it.

I never knew my dad. My mom told stories about him, and talked about him like he was a god. The most wonderful person to ever walk the Earth. She said he loved the ocean. That he took her deep sea diving one summer and it was one of the best experiences of her life. That he couldn't wait for my birth, and sometimes sang to me while Mom was pregnant.

I wish I'd been raised by him. He would have made an infinitely better father than my only-qualifies-by-the-barest-definition stepfather.

Smelly Gabe abused my mom and I for years. I don't understand why she married that jerk. (If Mom hadn't taught me to never cuss worse than "crap" "hell" and "damn" I would be calling him names way worse.) He hit us for years.

On the day Chiron showed up at my door, Gabe hit my mother so hard that she went into a coma.

Then all hell broke loose.

Of course, I called the hospital. And I almost called the police, before realizing that this was my chance to get some long, _long_ overdue justice.

I screamed at my stepfather. There were even a few punches thrown. But what really got him was when I ran into my room, got what little money he hadn't stolen from me to gamble away and use on alcohol, and threw it into the fireplace.

"You see that burning pile of cash right there? Well, that's what you deserve, you-" I called him some extremely unflattering names. It was the only time I ever broke my mother's no-cussing rule.

Only when I was satisfied with my justice did I call the police.

I'm interrupted by my thoughts with a banging. "Percy! Percy, can you hear me? Are you in there?"

I reply, "Yes! Can you get me out of here?" I don't recognize the voice, but I don't care. If they can get me out, then it doesn't matter who's rescuing me.

It turns out that it was Grover. When I hadn't come back from chores, he explained, Chiron sent him out to look for me. And so he thought (correctly, obviously) that Clarisse threw me in the Dumpster with no way out.

"Dude, I'm sorry Clarisse did that to you. Everyone has gotten roughhoused by her one way or another. Even the people who don't want to admit it."

I nod, too relieved to be out of the smelly Dumpster and wrapped up in my own thoughts to really answer.

 **A/N: Hey guys! Quick update this time, because I was really eager to get this one out!**

 **Clarisse finally gets her revenge, and we find out a few things about Percy's past! What do you guys think? Please review and tell me!**

 **Speaking of reviews:**

 **son of Ophion: Thanks :)**

 **Queen of Poptarts: Thanks as well, and the reference was "Good Kid" from the TLT musical.**

 **See you guys with the next update!**

 **~The88Constellations**


	7. Hell-Bent on a Person

**A/N: So in order to make Luke and Percy's relationship closer to canon, I had to do some other stuff that's pretty different from TLT.**  
Annabeth POV

Reading people is a learned art. An art that I have lots of practice at. But suddenly, I can't get a read on Luke. It puzzles me. I've known him my whole life, but suddenly his actions are as unclear to me as my dad's house was through the morning fog, the day I left it.

Whenever Harley and Nico fawn over Percy, he seethes silently. When they're assigned to chores together, he's obviously not happy.

From these actions and others, I can see that Luke has no love for Percy. But why? Why should Luke care? None of this concerns him.

Think Annabeth, think. What could possibly be the cause of Luke's hostility?

I don't know, so I ask Thalia when we both get assigned to dishwashing a few days later.

"He's been dropping hints for years, Beth. You _still_ don't get it?"

"No, and don't call me Beth."

"Luke doesn't like Percy because you talked to him voluntarily, Beth. He's had a crush on you for five years." She laughs. "If you could see the look on your face."

'What? Luke has a crush on me? But - no! Luke is like my brother! That's so _weird_!"

"Yeah. Remember last year, when I dated him for a month? I never felt that way about him either. He convinced me to fake-date him to try and get your attention."

I still can't wrap my mind around it, but when Luke starts spreading rumors about Percy's past, I realize it's gone too far.

I confront him at breakfast. "Luke Castellan! How dare you! Rule number one of the Half-Blood Home is we don't talk about other people's pasts! If you're jealous of Percy, you can take it up with him! Enough with this passive-aggressive stuff! This isn't _Mean Girls_ , Luke! You should know better!"

Everyone is staring at our table.

Percy stands. "It was _you_ , then. Dude, we were supposed to be friends! You don't know anything about my life. I never told you anything. I _definitely_ never gave you permission to go around telling everyone what you don't know!"

Luke stands and takes an aggressive step towards Percy. "Well-"

"OH. MY. GOD. Will you two _stop_ this? Luke, this isn't like you! You've never been so hell-bent on a person just because the girl you like _talked_ to him!"

Luke stares at me, dumbstruck.

"Oh please. You didn't think I knew? This is about me, isn't it? I never liked you that way, Luke! You're like my brother, not my boyfriend! And you!" I turn to Percy. "Jackson, I told you to keep your head down! I can understand why you're mad at Luke, but go take it out on your pillow, okay? Why are you always in so much _trouble_?"

Percy winks. "I told you, trouble has a way of finding me. And this guy? He's definitely trouble, and he obviously found me."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. Point is, if you two want to do something dumb, be my guest. Just don't do it anywhere near anyone else. At least Clarisse had the sense to do it where no one else could get blamed."

Percy sighs. "Look, I don't want a fight, okay? I just want him to stop being a jerk. How about Luke agrees to stop telling people what you don't know, and I agree not to talk to his crush unless I have to."

Being referred to as "Luke's crush" clearly makes everyone uncomfortable.

Luke grits his teeth. "Fine. Truce." They shake hands.

No one says a word until breakfast is over.

Luke and I are paired for chores.

"Luke, I know that look. This isn't over for you, is it? Well, Jackson's already on Clarisse's naughty list. Yes, she got her revenge, but you know she's going to keep beating him up every chance she gets. So please, give it a rest. He doesn't need _two_ people after him."

He scowls. "Fine. But listen, please. I don't know what his deal is. He was right about that. But if he's anything like the rest of us, he isn't a normal kid. Considering what he did to Clarisse, I think he's even less normal than anyone else here. I just don't want you getting hurt."

"I can take care of myself, Luke. I survived two weeks on the streets on my own when I was seven. I appreciate the concern, really, I do. But you could be wrong, and even if you're right, I can handle Percy Jackson."

He smiles. "I guess you're right. I shouldn't feel like it's my job to protect you when you can protect yourself just fine."

I nod, and we finish the chore in silence.

 **A/N: Happy Feast of Spes guys! Did you do anything special? Leave a review and tell me! (I wore my CHB souvenir shirt from when I saw the TLT musical.)**

 **Speaking of reviews, it's time to answer them!**

 **Chloee (guest) and Queen of Poptarts: Thanks :)**

 **Longest chapter! Yay!**

 **~The88Constellations**


	8. Brother

Percy POV  
Grover left at breakfast, and now he's back with a new kid. His name is Tyson. He's blind in one eye. No one asks how it happened, because it's pretty much taboo to ask, but it makes things a bit difficult. On top of that, there are only four people who go near him.

The first one is me. Every reason people have to avoid him doesn't apply to me, because it's only bad if you haven't seen worse. I've seen worse hygiene and weirder people. Plus, he's nice.

The second person is Will. I don't know how much he actually likes Tyson, but Will has this kind of inborn kindness that most of the Half-Blood Home residents lack. Nico tolerates him at meals (because Tyson decided that he wants to sit with me and Will at meals, and by extension, he sits with Nico), but that's all he does. He doesn't talk to Tyson at all, he just doesn't ask him to leave.

The third person is Clarisse, though I think that was a one time thing. She tried to drag him to the toilets, but I balled my fists and said, "Don't even think about it. Remember what happened the last time?" She glared at me, but left him alone.

The last one is Ella. She's a weird little kid. She's almost always in the lounge reading a book or in the cafeteria eating cinnamon rolls. (How she got her hands on them, I have no idea. Maybe she sucked up to our version of a lunch lady, Argus.) Ella follows Tyson around everywhere. It feels like she's stalking us.

One day, he decides that he trusts me enough to tell me about what happened before he came to the Half-Blood Home.

He used to live in Brooklyn. When he was four, his mom died. He never knew how. His dad couldn't manage a kid on his own, so he gave Tyson to the foster-care people after a few months of trying. Life wasn't too bad for him, until about two years ago. An abusive couple adopted him, and it got really bad after a few months, so he ran away. He lived on the streets for two years, losing his eyesight in his left eye in a street fight with a gang, the Kronos. Then Grover found him, and he came here.

"Now life is good! I get hot dogs! And a brother!" he finishes.

"Aw, Tyson, it's really sweet to call me that, but-"

"No," he says. "You look like Daddy. Who is your mommy?"

"Sally Jackson," I say, tears coming to my eyes. No. No crying. I haven't cried once since I've gotten here, and I intend to keep it that way.

I haven't thought about my mom in weeks, but I haven't thought about my dad in years. I never considered the possibility that he had another wife before he married Mom, but it's clearly true.

I sigh. Lights-out is in a few minutes, thank goodness. I need some time to just lay in my slightly uncomfortable bed and think about everything. I need a plan for the coming days. A plan that will make it easier to keep my promise and avoid Luke's wrath (although it's getting increasingly harder), help Tyson adjust, and maybe, just maybe, make life a bit easier for me to bear.

 **A/N:** **READ THE WHOLE THING! VERY IMPORTANT!**

 **Unfortunately, I'm going to go on another temporary hiatus. (I hope you didn't stop reading!) I'm giving a more detailed warning because it wasn't received well the last time. I'm not sure exactly how long it will be, but I leave for vacation on the eighteenth and probably won't be able to update until late August/early September. After I get back from vacation, school starts, so you should probably expect slow updates as well. I'm not abandoning this story unless I'm somehow forced to delete my account before it's finished, but I really hate to leave you guys hanging.**

 **With that bit of bad news out of the way, time to answer my reviews!**

 **Policorninjpoo: Thanks :)**

 **Queen of Poptarts: DA SHIPSSS**

 **Chloee (guest): Thank you so much! I need to develop the ships gradually ;), especially Percabeth because of all the drama going on with Percy, Annabeth, and Luke. And I try to write long chapters, it's a skill I'm working on.**

 **Guest (hope you can see this, it was a review on ch 6): Grover to the rescue! And I know it was a little weird but it was the best revenge I could think of other than the canon. And I couldn't really replicate the canon for obvious reasons. And Gabe didn't try to kill Percy for a few reasons. One is he probably didn't want police attention, because it would draw attention to how abusive he was. I also don't think he's the type of villain to kill people. He never intended to put Sally in a coma, after all.**

 **(Whew! That was a long one XD) Remember to R &R! If you're reading this now, you're already doing the first one.**

 **~The88Constellations**


	9. Tough Bookworm

Annabeth POV  
The Half-Blood Home is in horrible disrepair. I mean, that's normal, but it's been getting worse by the day. We're going to have to do something about it. I tried complaining to Mr. D last week, but as usual, he couldn't be bothered to even look at me. So I need to take matters into my own hands.

After breakfast one day, I approach Grover.

"Hey, Annabeth! Do you need advice about your fam-"

"I've told you so many times, Grover. They aren't family, and don't bring it up again. You're lucky you're my friend or I'd have judo-flipped you for asking. If my stupid dad writes to me again 'begging for forgiveness', I'll let you know. Anyways, I need advice about something different. What do you know about fundraising?"

"What?"

"Come on, Grover. I can't be the only one who noticed how much worse the state of the Home is getting. Your boss won't do anything about it, so we have to fix it ourselves."

"Well… yeah… but I'm just a secretary who loves the environment! And the rest of you are all just a bunch of messed up kids! What are _we_ supposed to do about it?" Grover was clearly on the brink of panic.

"You're right, Grover, we _are_ messed up. That's why most of us won't have a place to go if this place falls over because of the grown-ups' neglect. You don't know what it's like!" I yell, suddenly emotional. "You don't understand what it feels like to be shut out by the people you love. _All_ of us have experienced that. It was my dad. For some of us, it's our girlfriends or boyfriends. Our moms. Our dads. Our brothers, sisters, cousins. You have a girlfriend, Grover. You have parents that you still go home to every day. The rest of us don't have that luxury. The rest of us don't have lives we can just go back to. We _need_ the Half-Blood Home. So if you can think of anything, _anything_ to help us fix it up, you need to tell me."

Crap. What did I just _do_? I am Annabeth Chase. Resident tough bookworm. And tough bookworms don't talk about their feelings.

I calm myself by saying it was necessary. If I'd kept up the façade, I wouldn't be able to get Grover's help.

Grover stays quiet for a long time. Finally, he says, "It's true, Annabeth. I have a fairly normal life. You don't. But I want to tell you something. You always say you don't have a family. You're wrong. I have your back. Thalia and Luke have your back. We can be your family. Luke and I can be your brothers. Thalia can be your sister. You have people who care about you, Annabeth. And I'll help you in any way I can."

I realize that a my eyes are watering, and wipe them. Tough bookworms don't cry.

"One summer, I wanted to buy these really rare flower seeds, so I sold strawberries. I made about a hundred bucks. We could try it, if we could get our hands on some strawberry seed packets," Grover suggests.

"That's a pretty good idea, Grover, except for one thing: This is Manhattan. We don't have backyards."

He blushes. "Oh. Right. Uh… we could do a rooftop strawberry field!"

I think for a moment. "That could work! We can spread the word, and ask for donations. If people have enough pocket change, we could buy some seeds, and it's all profit from there."

Grover nods.

"UNDERHILL!" Mr. D's voice yells.

As Grover scurries off, I stifle a chuckle at Mr. D's refusal to remember the name of even his own secretary.

 **A/N: I'm off hiatus now! The updates might still be slower as I have started school, but there will be updates.**

 **Now, to answer reviews!**

 **Hannah forever: Thanks! I did.**

 **LaurenRiverSister: I'm still working on my word count. As for the drama, there might be some of that in the future ;).**

 **Please review and tell me what you think!**

 **~The88Constellations**


	10. An Explanation

**A/N: Guys, I am so, so sorry.**

 **I owe you an explanation as to why it's been more than a year since I updated. I also owe you an explanation for why I've decided, unfortunately, to discontinue this fic.**

 **Basically, it boils down to 3 reasons:**

 **1\. My life got really, really busy, and when I did have time to work on the fic, I didn't have any idea where I was going. I still don't have any idea where this fic would go if I were continuing it. Naively, I didn't go into this fic with any kind of plan.**

 **2\. My fandoms have drastically changed. I still really enjoy the Riordanverse, and I still consider myself part of the Riordanverse fandom, but I also have a handful of new obsessions and fandoms.**

 **3\. I'm a much more knowledgeable writer now (going through my old chapters of this made me cringe), and I've been trying my hand at my own original stories. Nothing has gotten past the planning phase so far, but these ideas are taking up most of the space in my brain that I had for fanfic ideas.**

 **For these reasons, I won't be updating this story any more. If someone wants to adopt it (and if they do, they can and should edit the existing chapters), they absolutely can.**

 **I also probably won't be doing a lot of writing on this site any more. I might publish a few one-shots or two-shots here and there for my various fandoms, old and new, but I probably won't be writing any full-fledged fics any time soon.**

 **~The88Constellations**


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